Whangarei horse trainer found guilty of neglect

A Whangarei racehorse trainer who failed to care for his two
horses has been disqualified from owning horses and ordered
to pay for the cost of nursing them back to full health.

Derek Allen, 44, of Ruakaka will spend three months on
community detention and under curfew from 7pm to 5am every
day for the duration of that sentence.

Animal welfare agency SPCA laid charges against him: failure
to alleviate pain or distress of an ill animal; reckless
ill-treatment of an animal and failure to comply with his
obligation in relation to the physical, health and
behavioural needs of an animal.

He defended the charges at a judge-alone trial in the
Whangarei District Court and was found guilty on all except
one.

Allen appeared for sentencing yesterday.

He works as a track rider for Logan Racing and has worked in
the industry for 27 years.

The charges he faced related to a standard-bred, 10-year-old
trotter mare and another 10-year-old thoroughbred flat racer
mare.

Two SPCA officers visited a paddock on Marsden Pt Rd in
Ruakaka on August 30, 2011 and found low and poor quality
grass, an empty bathtub by a gate and four empty plastic
half-drums.

One horse was thin and its hooves were overgrown.

Another animal was extremely thin, all the rib, hip and
spinal bones were clearly visible. It had overgrown and
cracked hooves and hair loss.

The animals were removed from the paddock on the advice of
veterinarian Angus Campbell and taken to a foster property in
Maungatapere where they went immediately to the trough and
drank for several minutes.

Dr Campbell said the thoroughbred mare was starved during a
period of weeks and he considered the animal wouldn't have
survived any longer in the circumstances.

He said the case was on par with animals he had seen dying in
extreme drought conditions.

The hooves of both horses were trimmed and both made a full
recovery before they were returned to Allen.

In court yesterday, Judge Greg Davis said given Allen's
extensive experience in the horse racing industry and his
close proximity to the paddock where the horses were kept, it
wasn't a burdensome task for him to look after the animals.

He said Allen's disqualification only from owning animals for
one year wouldn't prevent him from working in the industry
under supervision.

Allen was ordered to pay the SPCA reparation of $1583 for the
cost of feed and veterinarian care.